Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

A Christmas Carol

It is Christmas Eve, and people all over London are getting ready for a day of celebration, feasting, and merrymaking. There is one person though who is determined to hate and despise the whole business of Christmas as much as possible. His name is Ebenezer Scrooge, and he is a miserly and miserable person.

When his nephew wishes him a Merry Christmas, Scrooge says “Bah” and “humbug.” Scrooge feels that “Christmas is a humbug,” and he wants nothing to do with it. He certainly does not want to go to his nephew’s house for a meal the next day. When two gentlemen ask Scrooge to donate some money so that the cold and hungry poor might have some “Christian cheer” during the festive season, Scrooge dismisses the men. It is not his “business” to worry about the needs of others.

That night, in his cold, dark, and lonely house, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley. The ghostly apparition has a chain around his middle that is made of “cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.” Marley explains that he is trapped in his current state, unable to rest or have any peace. Before he leaves, the specter warns his old partner to change his ways. “You have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate” he says. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts, who, it is hoped, will help Scrooge to change his ways before it is too late.

Charles Dicken’s timeless tale has entertained generations of readers, and countless others have watched performances of the story in the theatre and on the television screen. This audiobook, is a recording of Patrick Stewart’s one man performance of the tale, which he performed to sell-out audiences in theatres in London and other cities. With great skill, Stewart brings A Christmas Carol to life, giving listeners an audio experience that they are likely to remember for years to come.